Thursday, January 31, 2013

Apartment 1B Gourmet Comfort Food at One Rockwell

On my last day at work, I decided that I will do away with the tearful goodbyes and heartbreaking hugs by leaving...as subtly as possible. Don't get me wrong, I love Summit Media and most especially the talented people that's part of it but I really do not want and can't stand sad goodbyes. Thus, after a two-hour morning meeting with the bosses, I excitedly invited my team for what could possibly be our last lunch out together...at the moment.

We initially couldn't decide where to go so I took matters into my own hands (literally!) and drove the team to Rockwell Center. Once there, we played a little eenie-mini-miney-moe and chose the restaurant that could offer us a good parking space (hehe!). Finally, we went for Apartment 1B! Hooray!

I've dined at the Salcedo Village branch before and loved it! It has been years since and I thought it would be nice to go back and to visit their One Rockwell branch this time. We got there during lunch time and were pretty lucky to be able to get a table that would comfortably fit all 6 of us at the second floor. I've always love Apartment 1B's cozy and homey interiors.

They've gone so modern! Check out this cool calling device.

The menu has grown from the time I last dined here. This is also the reason why the entire team had a hard time choosing what to get for lunch that day. I, myself, was choosing between their famous Eggs Benedict or a pasta dish. I'm so happy ML was seated beside me and she was game to share. Yay! We foodies really should stick together.

After everyone have made their choices, I ordered a couple of starters to share as we were feeling a bit hungry already. We got the Chicken Quesadilla (Php. 350) which was very hearty and delicious. Unlike most quesadillas which are so flat as the filling is just a thin layer of meat or spread, this one was literally bursting with chopped chicken fillet and it's accompanied with a generous amount of tomato salsa to give it a more Mexican flavor. Yummy!

We also tried the Vegetable Samosas (Php. 350) which were surprisingly good. Of course, the boys were a bit hesitant as the name really sounded so healthy but we love how it was filled with spinach, cheese and mushroom. The best combination ever! I highly recommend this.

Then came our main dishes, it was ML's first time to try Apartment 1B thus I made sure that we ordered the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon & Spinach (Php. 790 / 2 pieces) for two main reasons -- this is one dish that Apartment 1B is famous for and ML and I are big fans of anything with SALMON!

The verdict? I found the English muffin a bit too dry however the salmon, cheese and poached egg totally made up for it. The smoked salmon had a good silky texture, the poached egg was very fresh and the hollandaise sauce totally addicting. This is one reason why I love breakfast food. I hope ML enjoyed this one as much as I did.

We also tried the Three Cheese Vegetable Lasagna (Php. 490). You may have noticed that I ordered a number of healthier alternatives that day, I guess it was because I've been feasting non-stop since Christmas and I'm feeling a bit guilty about it already.

The lasagna was baked to perfection and you can just imagine how gooey and cheezy this was. The lasagna sheets were cooked al dente and this alternates with a generous amount of filling which was a bit too heavy given we each had a piece of Eggs Benedict already.

Over-all the food was a-okay but what made our lunch truly enjoyable was the bonding session spent with my team. It has just been weeks since my last day and I miss them already! Indeed, it was truly a blessing to be able to work with 5 of the most talented and dedicated people in the company.

Apartment 1B is located at the Ground Floor, One Rockwell East Tower, Rockwell Center. Call them at 869-3530.

@alterego: i never said eggs benedict was a healthier alternative. I was just referring to the vegetable lasagna which was a relatively healthier choice compared to its beefy counterpart :) thanks for visiting!